The Beauty of Chaos
by jylener22
Summary: 'It began as an ordinary day...' is the way stories often begin before they become quite extraordinary. For Rukia and Orihime, their day will go far beyond extraordinary...it will be downright earth-shattering...hopefully not literally. Main characters are Rukia, Orihime, Renji and Ichigo with others thrown in...don't expect anyone to act normal because this story won't be normal.
1. And So They Meet

The Beauty of Chaos

"Why is it that in all the movies and stories the hero or heroine simply starts by having an ordinary day?"

Rukia pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at her friend before answering, "I'm not sure, Orihime. Maybe because the author or director wants us to sympathize with them. We all long for a little adventure in our lives from time to time so when we become engaged in those kinds of stories we can better connect with the main characters because they are a little like us."

Orihime sighed as she said, "You're right about that, Rukia. I really would love to be swept up into some sort of wild adventure. I mean, this vacation has been great and all, but it could be so much more interesting with a little excitement."

Apparently, Orihime had never heard of or conveniently forgotten the commonly used phrase 'Be careful what you wish for since it just may come true'.

However, if she had not made just such a wish then it is just possible that what happened next would not have caught their attention.

Rukia and Orihime were long-time friends who had decided to take a vacation to Florida in order to celebrate their graduation from college and impending changes their lives would take from this point forward. Oh, if they only knew the changes that were in store for them in the next twenty-four hours…but then again, who really wants all those wonderful surprises to be spoilt in such a fashion?

As they walked along the beach, the two young women continued to chat comfortably and didn't notice UZV (unnoticed zooming volleyball) coming straight towards them.

"Look out!"

Both girls looked over and just managed to register three objects about to crash into them. One was white, another was red and the last one was orange. The next moment, both girls were knocked flat by much larger bodies. Consequently, the volleyball hitting one of the girls in the face would probably have hurt less.

Rukia and Orihime struggled weakly under the weight of two muscular young men and tried to catch their breath. Despite the fact that she was smaller in stature, Rukia had a bigger set of lungs and once she had filled them to capacity, she let the two idiots have it.

"Just what were you thinking knocking us over like that?! Are you crazy?! You could have broken one of our bones or something when you came barreling into us! When your mother taught you never to hit girls, it also applies to never running at them head on in order to take them out!"

The young man who had pushed Rukia out of the way had bright red hair tied up in a ponytail, a bright yellow bandana as well as a large pair of sunglasses. He was wearing Hawaiian print swim trunks and a shirt that read 'I'm sexy and you know it…so clap your hands!'

Pushing up his sunglasses and beginning to stand up, the guy said, "Well, I couldn't very well stand by and let a lovely young lady like yourself be knocked in the head by a speeding volleyball. And my mother also taught me not to walk away from someone who needs my help. As for him," he nodded towards his companion who had knocked over Orihime, "he was probably just following my example."

The other young man had stood up and helped Orihime to her feet before he began brushing sand off of his shirt which read 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…or the beer holder'. His hair was almost unnaturally orange, but then again, the hair didn't look as though it had been bleached to that color. At his friend's words, a scowl marred his handsome features and his fists clenched as he turned.

"I was following you? I'm the one who saw the volleyball being hit in their direction first. You didn't start running until after me. "

Returning the scowl and stepping closer so that he was standing nose to nose with his friend, he retorted, "Yeah right. I saw the ball first!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Ye-OW!"

"OW!"

Both young men cried out in pain as they were kicked one after the other by a small but very strong pair of feet. They both began hopping on one foot massaging their shins, which wasn't a smart idea in the sand as they lost their balance and toppled over, and were left staring up into the face of a very irritated Rukia Kuchiki.

Hands on her hips, Rukia scolded like a pro saying, "Would you two quit bickering like toddlers at a park trying to figure out which super hero is stronger?! You both look ridiculous! Now, who are you two and wh-"

She never got to finish that question as there were suddenly several high pitched screams coming from directly behind them. Rukia, Orihime and the two young men whirled to face the source of the racket. A group of girls in swimsuits were staring at the young men and a few of them were frozen in the position of pointing at them. All of them looked very surprised, awestruck and slowly a look of positive delighted hysteria was creeping up in their expressions.

The two guys turned to each other with a look of horrified understanding.

The red haired one asked, "Run?"

The other responded with a single nod saying, "Run."

Then, before Rukia or Orihime had a chance to react, both guys had grabbed one of the girl's hands and started pulling them along after them. They raced away at top speed and while the girls were by no means out of shape, it is rather hard to keep up with a person who is running as if the very Furies of Hades were chasing after them in flip-flops. However, what the girls didn't know right away was that they were about to be chased by those Furious Furies.

For a few moments, the group of girls did nothing, but then they seemed to gather their wits and took off after the escapees shouting and screaming, "Renji Abarai! Ichigo Kurosaki! Wait for us!"

Needless to say, the young men did not heed the cries of the stampeding horde behind them. Their only response was to pick up the pace about two notches.

Without warning, Orihime's right foot twisted suddenly and she crashed into the sand. Ichigo stopped, turned and without saying a single word, scooped the girl into his arms as she attempted to get back to her feet. In the few seconds this whole incident occurred, the screaming group of girls gained precious ground on Ichigo so that as he was carrying Orihime in his arms, while he was able to do so without too much effort, the weight of carrying another person did affect his speed slightly.

Glancing over his shoulder, Renji saw the predicament of his friend and the young woman in his arms and thought frantically of something he could possibly do to help them. Then he came up with an idea and prayed that the girls would be stupid enough to fall for it.

As he ran along, Renji turned his head to the left, acted as if he had seen someone he recognized, smiled, waved and shouted, "Hey Toshiro Hitsugaya! Fancy seeing you here at the beach! Hi Shuhei Hisagi! Long time no see! Yo Ikkaku Madarame! Make sure you don't pulverize anyone while you're playing volleyball like you did last time!"

With each new name Renji called out, all the girls squealed and some of them even left the group in order to chase down the other supposed popular stars Renji was yelling too. However, there was still a good amount chasing after him and Ichigo, so he decided to use one last name and he desperately hoped it would do the trick.

"Is that you Hanataro Yamada?"

He didn't need to say any more as he heard the group of girls scream their absolute loudest and scramble off in the direction they were sure they would find the adorable teen heartthrob Hanataro.

Despite the fact that they were no longer being chased, Renji and Ichigo did not slow down in the slightest as they were sure (and rightly so) that once those girls figured out the trick that they would be out for blood. Female fans could be very vengeful because as the saying goes 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.  
Two of Ichigo and Renji's mentors had been extremely popular back in the day and they had gotten on the wrong side of a few female fans, for which they had paid dearly.

Kenpachi Zaraki had lost an eye when he was at a restaurant and for whatever reason one of the girls had thrown a fork at him…she had gotten a bull's eye (all puns intended as stupid and corny as they are). He hadn't pressed charges against the girl since wearing the eye patch had driven his popularity sky high. Who knew right?

Their other mentor, Jyuushiro Ukitake, once had a run-in with some fans which scared him so much his heart had failed him. Paramedics managed to resuscitate him in time, but his heart and health were never good again. Jyuushiro adamantly refused to say what had happened that day, but everyone knew it must have been pretty traumatic to cause such damage. When the female population heard about Jyuushiro's plight, his popularity was more than doubled overnight.

Ichigo and Renji preferred not to have to go through such an experience even if it did make them more popular and desirable among fans (which in some ways, they didn't want as it would mean triple the amount of screaming and chasing fans like they had just dealt with).

As for Rukia and Orihime, they didn't say a word as they were pulled along or carried by these two young men. It wasn't until they reached a parking lot where a bunch of really expensive looking cars were that they finally stopped. Looking around, they also saw that they were in the parking lot for a REALLY expensive resort.

For the second time that day, once Rukia had had a chance to catch her breath, she lashed out furiously, "What in the world is wrong with you two?! My friend and I don't know you from Adam and yet here in the space of about five minutes you've ploughed us over remorselessly and then dragged us after you without a bit of explanation and now I demand to know what the big idea is!"

Renji and Ichigo both exchanged looks that clearly communicated that they were trying to decide which of them was going to risk answering her question. Since Renji was the one who had knocked over and then dragged along Rukia and because she was also staring mostly at him with a murderous expression, the task landed on him.

Letting out an inaudible sigh, Renji introduced himself saying, "My name is Renji Abarai. I told you before about the volleyball incident that we only did that because we didn't want either of you to be hurt. Hindsight being 20/20, maybe if we had just left you alone things might have been all right."

Looking only a hair less furious, Rukia snapped, "That still doesn't explain the whole gaggle of girls trying to chase you down while screaming your name. How did they know who you were?"

A little pride crept into his expression as Renji said, "Well, those girls were chasing my friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, and me because we are celebrities."

With a thoughtful expression, Rukia muttered to herself, "Renji Abarai…and Ichigo Kurosaki…"

Turning to Orihime, Rukia asked, "Do you know who they are?" to which Orihime shook her head.

Both Renji and Ichigo looked torn between shock and anger at not being recognized by these girls and Ichigo demanded, "How could you not know who we are? Don't you girls watch TV shows?"

Orihime smiled as she said, "But of course! I love the show 'Heartbreak Hospital' and 'Fairy Tales in the Real World' along with a few others. What was that one you liked again Rukia?"

"'Police vs. Lawyers'."

Nodding, Orihime said, "Yeah, that's the one," turning back to Ichigo and Renji, she asked, "Now, why did you think that we didn't watch TV at all?"

Renji and Ichigo stared at one another in complete bewilderment before finally Renji collected his thoughts enough to say, "Well…because you're the first girls we've ever come across who have absolutely no idea who we are. We're actors on a very popular show called 'Reapers'."

Orihime and Rukia looked at one another, shrugged and then turned and said together, "Never heard of it."

It was Ichigo and Renji's turn to go through the same motions before exclaiming in exasperated tones simultaneously, "No way!"

The girls responded, "Yeah way."

The guys, "How is that possible?"

The girls, "What channel is your show on?"

The guys, "Big Time, of course. It plays every Friday evening from 8-9."

The girls looked confused for a moment before they turned to each other, seemed to have the same idea and then said together, "Oh, we don't have cable."

The guys looked thoughtful, shrugged their shoulders and said, "Oh, well that makes sense."

Seeming to snap out of a daze, Rukia said sharply, "We're getting off topic! Now, even if Orihime and I don't seem to recognize you guys, after what we just encountered and escaped from it would be safe to say that if we stick around with you much longer that whole incident will seem really tame."

Turning to her friend, Rukia said, "Orihime, let's go."

What everyone had failed to realize up to that point was that Orihime had been attempting to keep her weight off of her right foot, but as soon as she put pressure on it, her face turned a frightening shade of white.

Rukia, Ichigo and Renji all said together, "You can't walk on that foot."

Orihime tried to force herself to look happy, but she could only manage a pained grimace as she said, "Oh, I'm fine."

The other replied, "No, you're not."

Then Rukia whirled on the two unsuspecting males and declared, "This is all YOUR FAULT!"

To emphasis the last two words, Rukia accompanied them with a brutal punch to Ichigo and Renji's kidneys. The two doubled over after that ferocious onslaught.

Turning her back on them, Rukia hurried over to her injured friend's side saying, "We'll find a taxi and go back to our hotel before I find you a doctor. Unless you think we should go to the emergency room first or something."

Orihime shook her head saying, "I'll be just fine. At worst it's probably just a sprain. If you help me walk, I think we can go back and get our stuff from the beach and then head back to the hotel."

Ichigo caught his breath enough to groan out, "You can't do that."

Rukia's eyes blazed dangerously as she demanded, "And why not?!"

Renji looked up at her and gasped out, "Those girls will be scouring the beach looking for us. They won't be happy because by now they'll have figured out that they were tricked. I would bet any money that as soon as they saw you, those girls would recognize you and let's just say if they caught you, they wouldn't go easy on you."

For a time, no one said anything until finally Orihime said what was on everyone's mind.

"So, what now?"

**Author's Note:**

All righty...while a bit of an explanation might be in order, I'm not entirely sure where to begin, but I'll try.

Per the request of CrEyeLoveToDraw1995/DeathBerryLover1995, this story is going to be written in the style of stories I used to write with a friend of mine years ago in the freshman to sophmore years of my high school existance. The stories themselves have been lost to the pages of history (thank Heaven for that one...), but I can't refuse the earnest request of a friend who has stood by me, given me encouragement and given me a good slap upside the head when I mess up royally. There are a few other people on deviantart and fanfiction both who have done the same and I fully intend to dedicate certain stories to them, but this one is for DeathBerry as a rather belated birthday present.

Now, with that portion of the explanation over with, let me just say that you will need to be prepared for all sorts of random, stupid and positively ridiculous stuff to happen in this story for the simple reason that this story is being pulled out of a very small portion of my brain that has not really grown up and matured. It still remembers all the random things I used to write about back in the day (man, I sound like I'm ancient or something...) when I would just type out whatever popped into my head no matter how much it didn't quite fit or how corny it was.

With that being said, because there is absolutely no method to this madness, that gives me entirely free reign to add in whatever details or characters or situations or the like that you guys care to throw at me. I do like to keep my material PG, but other than that, the sky's the limit for suggestions on what can happen next in the story.

I'd suggest stocking up on a few things if you plan to keep reading this story: 1) asprin, in case you find yourself either banging your head against a wall or slapping your forehead frequently in disbelief 2) popcorn, because what else goes better with really corny jokes...butter is optional 3) money, to either bribe me to stop or to help purchase a new brain for me...I'm in desperate need of a replacement I think... 4) can't think of any more because my brain has ceased working

Sit back, try to relax and just be prepared for complete and total chaos to erupt!


	2. Getting Along?

The Beauty of Chaos

Ichigo Kurosaki lived by two rules: 1) Keep your friends close so that they can help you kick your enemy's butts and 2) Asking for permission or forgiveness is just a waste of time. One could also say that he reacted before his brain had time to catch up. In this case, before either he or anyone else could figure out what was going on, he had once again swept Orihime into his arms and started walking in the direction of the resort.

Rukia was the first to recover and started stomping after the man who had just literally, and possibly figuratively, swept her friend off her feet and said vehemently, "Put Orihime down! You've gotten us into enough trouble already! Put her down!"

Turning and looking down at Rukia, Ichigo asked pointedly, "And if I do, then what are you two going to do then? Obviously, your friend here can't get very far on this busted foot of hers-"

"Because you were dragging her!" Rukia said heatedly.

"-and the longer she stands on it, the worse it's going to get. I'm just going to take her inside and have my friend take a look at it and see if it's a break, a sprain or something else. Then I'll make sure that you and your friend are safely taken to wherever you might want to go."

"Excuse me…"

This last sentence was so soft that everyone almost missed hearing it, but then Rukia, Ichigo and Renji turned their attention on Orihime. Her face was bright red and she was valiantly attempted to look Ichigo in the face, but seemed unable to look any higher than his neckline as she lay nestled in his arms.

Trying to keep her voice under control, Orihime said in an almost inconspicuous voice, "You don't have to carry me anymore."

Ichigo said incredulously, "Why not?"

Turning a deeper shade of red, Orihime stammered out, "I'm sure it's quite a ways away and I can only imagine how tired your arms must be after running with me in your arms already and I'm sure I don't begin to know how difficult it can be for you to carry someone as heavy as me for so long and I really don't want to be a bother so-"

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo interrupted saying, "Don't worry about it. I've lifted much heavier weights that you before. Trust me, I won't dr-OW!"

If Ichigo had been a more tactful person, it might have crossed his brain that possibly such a statement would not be received well by someone. However, as was earlier stated, Ichigo acted a long time before his brain had a chance to catch up and Orihime was most certainly not someone who cared to point out when someone said something tactless and borderline unkind and rude. So it stands to reason that if only Orihime had heard the statement, Ichigo would have got off scot-free and gone on with his life blissfully unaware of just how tactless his statement had been.

It just so happened (much to Ichigo's misfortune) that someone heard the statement whom, as we have seen before on several occasions, has absolutely no qualms about physically assaulting someone and then verbally berating them when they are being thoughtless, tactless idiots. As a result, Ichigo really shouldn't have been surprised when his shin suddenly exploded with pain, but as we have seen before, Ichigo is a very slow learner sometimes. However, he did have enough common sense and decency to not fall to the ground with Orihime in his arms, so that is one positive thing we can say about him.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners, you brainless brute?!" Rukia demanded.

"Would you quit kicking me?!" Ichigo ground out.

"I'm starting to think that when God created you and was starting to pour brains into your head, someone joggled his arm!" Rukia threw back.

"Oh yeah! Well with your temper and personality I'm starting to think that when God added 'sugar', 'spice' and 'everything nice' to your personality, someone switched the containers to 'spoiled', 'sour' and 'positively dour'!" Ichigo retorted.

Rukia's hands tensed into claws and she looked like she was about to pounce when Renji suddenly came up behind her and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides. When she began to try and kick at him, Renji easily lifted her so that her legs uselessly beat against the air.

Turning her head so that she could glare at her captor, Rukia growled, "Put me down, you dimwitted gorilla! Put me down at once! Put me down I say!"

"Hey! You two! Leave those girls alone!"

Given the circumstances and the scene they were creating with Renji holding a struggling, screaming girl in his arms while Ichigo seemed to be incapacitating another, they really shouldn't have been surprised when suddenly three men came barreling towards them. However, it shouldn't take much imagination to know that Ichigo and Renji both were completely and utterly stunned at this sudden turn of events and so therefore didn't have the common sense to put the girls down and try to explain what was going on. There aren't many situations where such tactics would have worked anyways, but it might have been worth a shot.

Fortunately for them, one of them was holding a young woman with a lot of common sense and who was also in a better position to explain what was actually going on.

Holding out her arms, Orihime began waving at the men and shouting, "No! It's all right! They aren't trying to harm us or kidnap us, I promise!"

About two paces before they were about to collide with Ichigo and Renji, the three men skidded to a halt before the tallest one with dark hair and an eye patch spoke to Orihime, "Are you sure you don't want us to beat these two up? One good punch each and they won't be troubling you again anytime soon."

We've already talked about the absolutely deplorable rate at which Ichigo's brain processes situations, actions and statements, so it really shouldn't surprise anyone to read what he decided to say next.

"My shins are bruised and I think my kidney is busted from this midget's attacks already."

The man with the eye patch looked down his nose at Ichigo before huffing to his friends, "Never mind. You two can beat them up if you want to. It's no fun punching the living daylights out of someone so weak a tiny girl can beat them up."

Ichigo starting stalking towards the man as he ground out, "What was that?"

Before the man with the eye patch could say anything to enrage Ichigo further, one of the men with white hair stepped between them and said, "Knock it off."

Ichigo glared at the man and said, "Out of my way, old man."

Now before either Ichigo or the white haired man could start fighting, either verbally or physically, the last man, who had blonde hair stepped between them and said in his best negotiating tone, "Now, now gentlemen. There's no reason to do anything rash, especially when a lovely young lady would be caught in the crossfire."

Taking one of Orihime's hands in his own, the blonde man said, "I apologize for my comrades' boorish behavior just now, but I hope you understand that it certainly did look as if you and your lovely friend over there were in quite a pickle."

Orihime blushed as she said softly, "N-n-no. I'm sorry you had to run all the way over here for nothing."

"Don't say that Orihime," said Rukia, whom Renji had finally put back on the ground and so she had paid him back with another round of kicks to the shins as he was on the ground holding his legs once again, "Who knows what these two idiots might have done to us if these three men hadn't have come along when they did."

Turning his attention to Rukia, the blonde man said, "Well, now that I see them up close, while they do seem a little unwise, these two young men don't really strike me as very harmful."

Crossing her arms and glaring at Renji, Rukia scoffed, "Oh they're uncouth, for sure. Half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerve-hurters."

Both Ichigo and Renji returned Rukia's glare and demanded in unison, "Who's scruffy looking?!"

Once again turning the tide of conversation away from rather dangerous waters, the blonde man said to Orihime, "However, my companions and I are being just as uncouth as these youths for not introducing ourselves. My name is Kisuke Urahara," he nodded his head at the white haired man, "He is Kensei Muguruma," and gestured towards the man with the eye patch, "And finally we have Kenpachi Zaraki. Together we are K cubed or KKK."

At this last statement, the only thing Ichigo, Orihime, Renji or Rukia were able to do was simply stare at the man in disbelief. Had he really just said what they thought he had just said?

Apparently, when the three men had come up with that title for their group, they had failed to remember or discover the historical significance of that name since Kenpachi, Kensei and Kisuke returned the young peoples' blank stares with incomprehensive looks of their own.

Ichigo somehow managed to recover first and said quickly, "Well, it was nice to meet you all and maybe we'll bump into each other again real soon, but right now this girl needs some medical attention so if you'll excuse us…"

He left the statement dangling and started walking once again towards the resort. Renji and Rukia took their leave of the three men as well and followed after Ichigo.

As they walked away, Renji and Rukia heard Kenpachi gripe, "Kids these days. Wimps. Every single one of them. I don't know why some parents even bother raising them. Send them off to fend for themselves once they've learned to walk. That's the only way they'll become real fighters."

Exchanging a look with Rukia, Renji said quietly, "I'd hate for that guy to be my dad."

Nodding, Rukia whispered back, "Some dads feed their kids lemons just to see their tiny faces pucker up. He'd probably put pebbles in their bread just to make sure their teeth were strong and sturdy."

They both grinned at each other for a moment before realizing what they were doing and quickly turned their heads away from one another in embarrassment. The incident did not go unnoticed.

Noticing Orihime looking over his shoulder with a small smile on her face, Ichigo asked, "What are you so happy about?"

Immediately, Orihime's eyes snapped up in order to look into Ichigo's as she stammered, "Oh nothing important."

As Ichigo looked at Orihime, he tried to come up with some sort of snappy retort, but since his brain was so slow he couldn't think of one. One could also say that his brain moved slower than usual since most of it was occupied with thinking how…cute (had his mind really just conjured up that word out of all the other words he could have possibly used…apparently so…he'd have to work on opening his thesaurus more often) this young woman's eyes were when they widened like that when she was surprised. He also loved how…cute (ok, honestly…this was just too pathetic…) her face became when red slowly began to color her cheeks and then spread slightly to the rest of her face.

One might say love was starting to flourish…but then again, that could only be possible if one believed in love at first sight. Or in their case, as their first sight of each other had been a time when Ichigo and Renji had literally knocked Orihime and Rukia off their feet, their first REAL look at one another.

If this was truly love beginning to blossom, than everyone knows that the next stage is a time when said maturing love is put to the test to make sure it can withstand just about anything (and when the word 'anything' is used it quite literally means 'ANYTHING'). Well, let's see just what kind of challenges await our two couples in the chapters to come…

**Author's Note:**

I...don't...know...I really and seriously have no idea where half this stuff comes from. Just as I'm typing, something will pop into my head and I'm just like Ichigo in that I will type it out and then leave it there since it is exactly how I used to write.

There were at least two partial movie quotes in here. One of them is rather obvious and probably most of you will know, but I'm curious to see if anyone can pick out the other as well. Unless you are familiar with older Disney movies, then you might not guess it, but maybe someone does like those movies.

Anyway, some of you have been asking for me to go into more detail about the show Ichigo and Renji are a part of and I will try to do so in the next chapter or so. What they do might prove somewhat interesting, I think...and I hope.

Hope you guys are enjoying this positively insane journey! Now I'm really going to go back and check eBay to see if they're having a sale on brains...JUST KIDDING DEATHBERRY! :)


	3. DUD-Damsels Under Duress

The Beauty of Chaos

"Ah, now this hits the spot. I guess those morons are good for something."

Orihime was far too busy gaping at the luxurious hotel bathroom and especially the enormous Jacuzzi bathtub to reply to Rukia's statement at first. She was trying to keep her weight off her newly bandaged foot, so she was gripping the doorframe in order to help maintain her balance.

From her vantage point inside the bathtub, Rukia grinned at her friend and playfully splashed a little water in Orihime's direction in order to get her attention before saying, "Hey! The water's great and it will help you relax after all the misery you've been put through today."

Hobbling over to the tub, Orihime said hastily, "I haven't been put through any misery! It was very generous of Mr. Abarai and Mr. Kurosaki to bring us here and everything. They certainly didn't have to."

Rolling her eyes, Rukia said, "We'll have to agree to disagree on that point. Need any help with that bandage?"

Orihime had been leaning against the tub in order to remove her compression bandage from her right foot, but at Rukia's question, she smiled over at her friend and said, "No thank you! I'm all set!" before she carefully stepped into the bath and then gingerly lowered herself into the soothingly hot, frothy water.

Once she adjusted to the high temperature of the water, Orihime let out a contented sigh and immersed herself up to her chin in the water, which caused Rukia to giggle and ask playfully, "I can't tell, Orihime, are you enjoying yourself?"

It was obvious that Orihime heard Rukia's question since her ears were still above water and Rukia heard and saw Orihime's mouth moving under the water, but the answer was quite garbled. Regardless, Rukia understood Orihime's response and so leaned back and adjusted herself slightly so as to have a jet of water soothe a particular section of her back.

To them, it seemed as though they had been relaxing in the water for about two minutes (which was about right) when Rukia and Orihime heard a knock on their hotel room door. Neither one felt the need to answer the door until they heard knocking a second and third time.

Without opening her eyes, Rukia sighed and said, "Don't even think of getting out of the tub. I'll get the door," then she climbed over the side of the tub, grabbed a bathrobe and grinned down at her friend before making her way over to the door.

On the other side of the door, Rukia was greeted by a middle-aged hotel maid who grinned and said, "Like me to turn down the beds, Dearie?"

At the woman's words and tone of voice, Rukia gave an unconscious shiver, but quickly recovered herself, returned the woman's smile and said, "Yes, thank you. Come on in."

After closing the door again, Rukia left the woman to go about her business while she herself made her way back to the bathroom and closed the door. For a moment, Rukia hesitated wondering whether she should lock the door or not before she turned the lock as quietly as she could, shrugged off the bathrobe and climbed back into the tub with a contented sigh.

Rukia was just beginning to readjust herself in front of the jet of water when she heard the doorknob jiggle softly. Looking at the door with an expression of blank surprise and slight confusion, Rukia saw Orihime rise out of the water slightly and so understood that her friend was just as perplexed as she was. They exchanged looks and nonverbally confirmed that neither of them would say a word unless it was absolutely necessary.

It became absolutely necessary a moment later when they heard a light rat-tat-tat on the door and the maid's voice asked soothingly, "How are you doing in there, Dearie? Need any fresh towels or maybe a little extra bubble bath? I have a nice cinnamon scented one on my cart, would you like me to fetch it for you? Would make you smell so sweet and mouthwa-I mean…irresistible."

Exchanging another bewildered glance with her friend, Rukia turned her gaze back to the door and called back warily, "Umm…no thank you. We're fine in here. Thanks anyway…"

"All right, Dearie. Let me know if you need anything else."

And with that, there was the sound of footsteps moving away from the bathroom door and then the sound of the front door opening and closing. Now that they were once again alone in the hotel room, Rukia and Orihime allowed themselves to become immersed in the comfort of the steaming bath. It wasn't much later when both young ladies mutually made their way out of the bath, dried off, put on their bathrobes and made their way towards the bedroom in order to start getting ready for dinner. Ichigo and Renji had told the girls to be dressed and ready by quarter to six, but had refused to say where they were going to eat.

Both girls were so absorbed in their thoughts, they didn't take much notice of their surroundings at first. However, it took less than three seconds for both Rukia and Orihime to realize that they were not alone in their room as they had both assumed.

Smiling at them from where she stood by the window closing the curtains, the same middle aged maid grinned at them and said, "Oh, don't mind me, Dearies. I was just tidying up a bit in here and was going to see if you needed any help with anything."

Trying desperately to shake off an uneasy feeling beginning to grow in her stomach, Rukia gave the woman a small smile and said, "Again…thank you for your kindness, but we're just fi-"

"Oh, Dearie!" cried the maid as she saw Orihime hobbling over to the bed, "What did you do to your poor footsie? Do, do let me have a look, won't you?"

Despite the fact that the woman seemed to be asking a question, it was more of a combination of statement and command as she all but pushed Orihime to sit on the bed and then grabbed her right foot in order to begin inspecting it. Both girls were too shocked to say anything at first and neither seemed sure how to handle such an unusual situation since they didn't want to be unkind to the woman, but Rukia and Orihime felt that they could do without this woman's 'help'.

The woman didn't seem to notice the awkward situation she was creating and started mumbling under her breath. For a moment, Orihime looked almost pleadingly at Rukia to help her when suddenly her face changed quite drastically. She looked rather surprised for a moment, then confused, then a blank look took over before finally closing her eyes and looking extremely comfortable and content.

Walking hastily over to her friend's side, Rukia asked urgently, "Orihime, are you all right? What's going on?"

Opening her eyes half-way, Orihime grinned almost sleepily at her friend and said in a slurred voice, "Why…nothin's the mutter wiv me…I feel…fabdibulousidocious…" before closing her eyes again and slumping against her friend.

Not that Rukia was a weak person, but Orihime's dead weight was unexpected and caused Rukia to become unbalanced and topple to the floor. Orihime flopped over the side of the bed and pinned her friend to the floor.

Struggling underneath her friend, Rukia said imploringly, "Orihime, wake up! Orihime, answer me! What is wrong with you? Wake up!"

Standing up and leering down at the unconscious girl and the girl trying to wriggle away, the maid said in a low, oily tone, "Ahh…at last…two such beautiful, young and easily trapped specimens. These two should last me quite a long time."

Her eyes widening in horror, Rukia couldn't stop herself before she asked, "What are you talking about? What are you going to do?"

Clucking her tongue and bringing back a tiny bit of the borderline motherly affection, the maid answered, "Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head and heart over such trifles. I'm going to put you in the same wonderful sleep as your friend here to help you relax. You won't feel a thing."

And with that, the woman reached out and started mumbling again. Even though she knew what was coming and tried to fortify her mind, since Rukia had absolutely no idea how to defend herself from the woman's attack, she obviously succumbed to it.

Rukia was more than half-way entranced, when the hotel room door burst open. The maid left off her mumbling and screeched horribly when she saw who had entered.

"No! Not the Reapers!"

And with one swipe of a short, silver sword, the maid dissolved into black ashes which completely disappeared moments later.

When Rukia came to her senses, she opened her eyes to see the concerned face of Renji bending over her and holding a bottle of what looked like some kind of smelling salts.

Seeing Rukia's eyes open, Renji's face relaxed into a grin as he said simply, "Hey."

Still disoriented and groggy, Rukia blinked slowly and parroted, "Hey," before asking in a daze, "What happened?"

Putting the bottle down and gently resting the back of his hand against Rukia's forehead, Renji didn't respond for a moment and then said, "Well, that's rather an interesting and complicated story because you see…Ichigo and I had to bust down the door and-"

Everything came back in a rush and Rukia's eyes snapped open as she pushed herself up crying out incoherently, "The woman! The maid! Orihim-oh," was all she managed to get out before her head began spinning and making her feel nauseous.

Wrapping an arm around Rukia's shoulders, Renji eased her back onto the pillows saying, "Yeah, the maid's been taken care of and Ichigo's looking after your friend."

Draping an arm over her eyes, Rukia groaned, "Oh, I might have known…"

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

Turning her head slightly and peeking out from under her arm, Rukia saw Ichigo glaring at her in an affronted manner. Good, things hadn't been going well for either her or Orihime and right now Rukia felt downright lousy so now was a good time to start venting out her frustrations.

"Means that I wouldn't be at all surprised to figure out that the maid attacking us had something to do with you two being around us."

Rukia had meant for the comment to be cutting and somewhat hurtful, but she was positively flabbergasted at Ichigo's reaction. His eyes went wide as he looked at Renji before returning his gaze to the sleeping form of Orihime with a look of immense guilt on his face. Turning her gaze to Renji, Rukia was extremely surprised to see a very similar expression on Renji's face as well.

Beginning to see the pattern, Rukia asked slowly, "So…the maid coming in and attacking Orihime and me…actually does connect to you two? How is that possible?"

Once again Ichigo and Renji exchanged looks before Ichigo said quietly, "Let's wait until Orihime wakes up and both of you feel a little better and up for a shock before we get into that whole mess."

**Author's Note:**

Man, I haven't updated this story in an absolute age...not quite sure how much longer this one will last, but I'm thinking not more than three chapters since I just have booked myself too much with stories lately and I want to do them all justice.

As I've said before, this story is being completely mashed up from a bunch of different sources and utterly thrown together on the spot. With few exceptions, I publish the first draft of everything I write and maybe one day will go back and correct any grammatical or other mistakes that are within my work. As a result, I can say that this story is fun to write and 'off the cuff' in order to preserve its unpredictablness.

Hope you like it and do let me know if you're confused about anything!


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